Elégie is the fifth ‘Composer Portrait’ to be compiled and scripted by Lucy Parham. The CD is now available.
Lucy Parham, piano
Henry Goodman, narrator
Deux-Elles
“Parham’s huge, expansive tone enveloped the hall. Unlike Rachmaninoff’s own angular and terse self-interpretations, Parham takes her own sweet time floating long phrases like a singer with endless lung power, while uncovering oodles of inner voices and holding your rapt attention. As such, I didn’t want the C sharp minor Prelude Op.3 No.2 and the Kreisler/Rachmaninoff Liebesleid to end.”
“From the opening Elégie Op. 3 to the closing Moment Musical No.6 Parham and Goodman between them paint a loving, 100 -minute portrait of the ever-melancholic Rachmaninoff”
***** 5 stars
“This is the crowning glory of Parham’s Composer Portrait series”
***** 5 stars
“Narrated snapshots of Rachmaninoff’s life interspersed with Parham’s soulful playing. Henry Goodman captivates.”
**** Four stars
“A superb evocation of the life and music of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The design of the listening experience is skillfully and subtly structured, and the manner is engaging and intimate, so that the great Sergei himself seems to be recalling his life for us as we listen.”
“There is nothing more satisfying than listening to great music, beautifully performed, while, at the same time, learning a little about the world in which it came into being and about the people who created it.
Lucy Parham’s concerts offer just that – a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.”